GLOBAL - A high-profile UEFA Champions League match between Liverpool and Real Madrid, scheduled for Tuesday, 4th November 2025, EAT, has drawn attention to the competition's dramatic new format, which replaced the traditional group stage starting in the 2024/25 season. The changes, designed by UEFA to increase the number of high-stakes matches, have ended the era of predictable group fixtures, introducing a more complex and varied 'league phase'.

Under the new 'Swiss Model' system, the Champions League expanded from 32 to 36 teams, all placed into a single league table. Instead of playing three opponents home and away, each club now plays eight matches against eight different opponents—four at home and four away. These opponents are determined by a draw where all 36 teams are seeded into four pots, with each team drawn to play two opponents from each pot.

This restructuring makes repeat matchups in consecutive years less likely by design, aiming to create more variety for fans. According to reports citing UEFA regulations, a specific rule prevents a team from being drawn away to the same opponent in the league phase for three consecutive seasons. This means, following Real Madrid's visit to Anfield in both the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, the same fixture cannot occur in the 2026/27 league phase, although a match at Real Madrid's home ground or a knockout stage clash would still be possible.

Implications of the New 'Swiss Model'

The primary driver for the change was to generate more competitive matches and eliminate so-called 'dead rubbers' that sometimes occurred in the old group stage. The new format increases the total number of games in the competition from 125 to over 200. After the eight-game league phase, the top eight teams in the unified table advance directly to the Round of 16. Teams finishing from 9th to 24th place enter a two-legged knockout playoff round to determine the other eight teams progressing to the last 16. Teams ranked 25th and below are eliminated entirely from European competition for the season.

For football fans in Kenya and across East Africa, this means a significant increase in the number of top-tier European matches available for viewing from September to January. However, it also reduces the guarantee of seeing famous rivalries play out in predictable home-and-away ties during the tournament's initial phase.

Fixture Context and Team Details

The narrative in the original source material contained several factual inaccuracies regarding the teams' current status. Contrary to its claims, the manager of Real Madrid for the Tuesday fixture is Xabi Alonso, who was appointed in June 2025 after a successful, history-making tenure at Bayer Leverkusen. The original article incorrectly suggested he was a new manager and that Carlo Ancelotti had recently been in charge.

Recent reports from November 2025 confirm Real Madrid, under Alonso, have had a record-breaking start to their season, winning 13 of their first 14 matches. Their only defeat was a 5-2 loss to city rivals Atletico Madrid. Forward Kylian Mbappé, who joined the club in 2024, has been in prolific form, recently matching a Cristiano Ronaldo record by scoring in eight consecutive league games. Claims in the source article of a poor run of form for Real Madrid are unsubstantiated. Liverpool's domestic form has been less consistent, with reports noting just two wins in their last eight games ahead of the European clash.

The shift in the Champions League format represents one of the most significant overhauls in the competition's modern history, promising more games and greater unpredictability, while rules preventing fixture repetition aim to keep the league phase fresh for global audiences.